Christine Granville was about as James Bond as it gets. Stories of her life as a spy during World War II are legendary. Today we'll tell her story.
AI Summary
# Summary
This Stuff You Should Know episode tells the incredible true story of Christine Granville, a Polish-born woman who became one of World War II's most remarkable amateur spies—arguably as close to a real-life James Bond as history has produced. Listeners will discover how this charming, fearless adventurer went from smuggling cigarettes at ski resorts to parachuting into occupied France, charming enemy soldiers, and undertaking daring sabotage missions across Europe for the British Special Operations Executive. The episode traces her journey from her privileged but troubled childhood through her most legendary operations, complete with wild tales of outwitting the Gestapo and the kind of derring-do that sounds too outrageous to be true—yet much of it actually is.
Casino Royale
2006
2h 24m
★ 7.6
"The character of Vesper Lind in Casino Royale, the great James Bond novel and films. Apparently was based on Grandville — Discussing the theory that Christine Granville may have inspired the Bond character Vesper Lind, and mentioning she allegedly had an affair with Ian Fleming."
— Chuck
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2005
PG
1h 55m
★ 7.0
"Ian Fleming and Raul Dahl guy who's who created Charlie and Chocolate Factory, they were both spies for the Brits in America — Mentioning that both the James Bond author and the creator of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were spies during WWII."
— Chuck
"He was in Girls. Christopher Abbott. — Mentioning that actor Christopher Abbott appeared in the HBO series Girls."
— Chuck
Sanctuary
2023
TV-MA
★ 7.8
"I can also recommend while we're here, the movie Sanctuary. It was out last year with Margaret Qualie — Recommending the film Sanctuary, which stars Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott."
— Josh
The Black Hole
1979
PG
1h 38m
★ 5.8
"The other one was the black hole that Disney won from 1979. I just had an itch to watch it and man does it hold up — Recommending the 1979 Disney film The Black Hole, saying it holds up well."
— Chuck
The Haunting of Hill House
2018
TV-MA
★ 8.1
"My niece, Meela, is in a movie that's out on the big screen called The Hill. It's a super duper Christian movie — Recommending a Christian film starring Dennis Quaid, in which Josh's niece appears."
— Josh
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The Housemaid
1915
20m
★ 10.0
"It's on the list. It is really good. And Andy McDowell, who I'm not usually a huge fan of as an actress — Recommending the Netflix series Maid, praising Andy MacDowell's performance in the show."
— Josh
Top Secret!
1984
1h 30m
★ 7.1
"They were like a resistance group like you know from Top secret — Making a comparison to the resistance group in the movie Top Secret! when describing Polish resistance groups."
— Josh
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